Loose leaf binder



Aug. 19, 1941.

J. POTTS ET AL LOOSE LEAF BINDER Filed Aug. 16, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet 1Aug. 19, 1941. J. POTTS ET AL LOOSE LEAF BINDER Filed Aug. 16, 1959 3Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Aug. 19, 1941 LOOSE LEAF BINDER John Potts,Chicago, Ill., and George Lynwood Logan, Cleveland, Ohio, assignors toWilson- Jones Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation of MassachusettsApplication August 16, 1939, Serial No. 290,380

7 Claims. (01. 129-1) This invention relates to a loose leaf binder andmore particularly to the sheet retaining mechanism mounted in a carryingcase adapted to carry a substantial bulk of material, such as catalogs,in pockets adjacent the sheet retaining mechanism.

Loose leaf binders of this general type are quite well known in the art,but they have the disadvantage that when the pockets are filled. thesheets impaled on the sheet retaining mechanism cannot lie flat when thebinder is opened. Heretoiore it has been deemed necessary to providebinders of this type with a wide binding back to insure a pleasingcontour to the back when the binder is heavily loaded.

' It is an object of this invention to provide simple and efficientmeans for mounting a sheet retaining mechanism in a carrying case sothat the sheets may lie fiat when the case is opened regardless of thethickness of the material carried in the pockets of the case. It is afurther object of this invention to provide a loose leaf binder withpockets on the inside of its cover members and sheet retaining mechanismarranged in such a manner that the binder does not require a Widebinding back. Other objects of this invention will become apparent uponreading the following description, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which Figure l is a perspective view of aloose leaf binder embodying the invention;

Figure 2 is a cross sectional view taken along the line II-II of Figure1;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of the binder in openposition;

Figure 4 is a view, partly in section and partly in elevation, takenalong the line IV-IV of Figure 3; and

Figure 5 is a longitudinal view, partly in section and partly inelevation, taken along the line V-V of Figure 4.

In the drawings the reference numeral 2 indicates a carrying casecomprising a back 3 and a pair of cover members 4. The cover members areprovided with handles 5 and are connected by flaps 6 joined by means ofa slide fastener I. It will be understood that although the carryingcase illustrated has handles and a slide fastener these features are notessential, and the advantages of the invention may be realized with anycase having a back and two cover members.

Each cover member 4 is provided with a pocket formed by a side wall 8secured to the cover member by means of edge gussets 9 and a gusset I0forming the base of the pocket. The pockets are adapted to receivecatalogs or similar material H and are spaced apart a sufiicientdistance to permit the securement of sheet retaining means therebetween.The side walls 8 of the pockets are provided with flaps [2 which extendbeyond the base It! and are lapped and secured together to form afloating support for a suitable sheet retaining mechanism. Although itis preferred to form this support by'lapping flaps extending from theside walls 8, it is obvious that the flap might extend from only onewall and be secured to the other, or a separate piece of material mightbe secured to the side walls 8 or to the base gussets l0 adjacent theWalls 8. It is also possible to form both side walls 8 from a singlesheet of material, but this structure is not preferred because of itsexpensiveness.

The preferred form of sheet retaining mechanism is a conventional ringmetal l3 although a pair of flaps carrying sheet retaining post metals,or any other desired form of sheet retaining mechanism, could be used.The ring metal l3 comprises a plurality of divided ring sections [4 anda pair of triggers l5 operable to open and close the ring sections topermit the impalement or removal of a plurality of apertured sheets 16.The ring metal is secured to the flaps l2 by means of a binding back [1.The back of the case may be provided with a reinforcing strip l8 of anysuitable material to prevent excessive wear from the contact of themetal binding back.

When the case is closed the sheet retaining means rests on the bottom ofthe case and the contents of the pockets are disposed above the rings asshown in Figure 2. No wide binding back is required because the back 3of the case will assume a natural curve regardless of the bulk ofmaterial H. When the case is opened, as shown in Figures 3 and 4, thesecurement of the flaps I2 to the pockets causes the sheet retainingmechanism to be raised relative to the back 3. The elevation of thesheet retaining mechanism is directly proportional to the bulk ofmaterial ll so that the sheets I6 always lie flat when the binder isopened regardless of the thickness of the contents of the pockets.

Although we have described one embodiment of our invention in detail, itwill be understood that the description thereof 'is illustrative, ratherthan restrictive, as many details may be modified or changed withoutdeparting from the spirit or scope of the invention. Accordingly, we donot desire to be restricted to the exact details of constructiondescribed, except as limited by the appended claims.

We claim:

1. In a loose leaf binder, a pair of cover members connected to anintermediate back member, a pocket member secured to each of said covermembers, a flap member connected to said pocket members, and sheetretaining means secured to said flap member.

2. In a loose leaf binder, a pair of cover mempair of covers connectedthereto, each of said covers being provided with a pocket, sheetretaining means movably mounted in said binder, and means engaging saidpockets and said sheet retaining means, said second mentioned meansbeing adapted to move said sheet retaining means perpendicularly to saidback member in accordance with the thickness of the contents of saidpockets automatically when said binder is opened to permit sheetscarried by said sheet retaining means to lie flat.

bers, a pocket secured to each of said cover members, one wall of eachof said pockets extending beyond the base thereof, and a ring meta1-secured to said extending portions ofsaid "walls.

3. In a loose leaf binder, apair of covers connected to an intermediateback member, each cover being provided with a pocket, sheet retainingmeans between said pockets, and means for adjusting the position of saidsheet retaining 6. In a loose leaf binder, a pair of cover membersconnected to an intermediate back member,

a pocket secured to each of said cover members,

sheet retaining means positioned between said pockets, and meansautomatically raising said sheet retaining means to substantially thesame levelas the upper walls of said pockets when "pair sof covermembers extending from opposite said covers are opened.

7. Ina loose leaf binder, a back member, a

edges of said' back member, a pocket secured to each of said covermembers, sheet retaining ;,means positioned between said pockets andadapted to rest on saidback member when said pockets are empty, andmeans for raising said sheet retaining means tosubstantially the level 1of the contents of said pockets'when said pockets are; filled and thebinder is opened.

JOHN Po r'rs, V GEORGE LYNWI OOD LOGAN.

